1996 J-Bird Records, the first Internet record label, opens for business, offering previews using Real Audio and Shockwave. Clients include Mitch Ryder and Billy Squier, but the label folds a few years later.
1995 "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" by Whitney Houston hits #1 on the Hot 100. The song appears on the soundtrack to the film Waiting To Exhale, which stars Houston.
1992 In her first film role, Whitney Houston plays a pop diva under the protection of Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard. The highlight of the movie is Houston's rendition of "I Will Always Love You," which hits #1 three days after the movie's release.More
1989 Thanks to a video that gets Alice Cooper his first significant spins on MTV, "Poison" hits #7 - the rocker's first Top 40 hit in nine years.
1976 Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, The Staple Singers, Ronnie Hawkins, and Dr. John join The Band for The Last Waltz, a farewell concert for the ages.More
1967 "Incense And Peppermints" by Strawberry Alarm Clock hits #1 in America. The song is co-written by the band's guitarist, Ed King, who later joins Lynyrd Skynyrd.
1960 Amy Grant is born in Augusta, Georgia. The Christian singer makes a controversial transition to secular music with the #1 pop singles "The Next Time I Fall" (a 1986 duet with Peter Cetera) and "Baby Baby."
2022 Irene Cara, who had a #1 hit with "Flashdance... What a Feeling" and starred in the movie Fame, dies at 63.
2021 The Beatles: Get Back, a three-part series comprised of outtakes from their Let It Be documentary, debuts on Disney+. Directed by Peter Jackson (Lord Of The Rings), it provides a very detailed look at the 1969 recording of their album Let It Be.
2015 Alicia Keys begins her two-episode stint as Skye Summers on the hip-hop-centered TV series Empire.
2013 Gary dos Santos, known as the "Mayor of Strawberry Fields," dies at age 49 after a battle with leukemia. Dos Santos ruled over the Strawberry Fields section of Central Park, dedicated to the memory of John Lennon. He helped keep order and decorum in the area, arranged flowers at the memorial, and greeted tourists who came by.
2013 Beastie Boys sue the toy company GoldieBlox for running an online ad featuring little girls singing an altered version of their song "Girls" (the group has never allowed their songs to be licensed for advertising). The suit is settled on March 19, 2014, with GoldieBlox issuing an apology and making a donation to charity.
2011 Blues musician Coco Robicheaux dies in New Orleans, Louisiana, at age 64.
2008 A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!, the soundtrack to the Christmas comedy special of the same name starring Stephen Colbert, is released on iTunes. Most of the songs featured on the album were written by comedy writer David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger, who is the bass player for Fountains of Wayne. The album will go on to win the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.
2006 Mexican banda music singer Valentin Elizalde is gunned down in his car after a concert performance, presumably by a gang of drug traffickers, at age 27. Elizalde often sang narcocorridos, "drug ballads" that have been compared to gangster rap.
2005 Country music makes itself comfortable all around New York when the Country Music Association holds its 39th annual CMA Awards show at Madison Square Garden.
2003 Meat Loaf undergoes surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat.
1999 Clint Black is on hand to help the Salvation Army launch its annual holiday fundraising drive. Black entertains during the third annual "National Kettle Kick-off," a half-time event at the Dallas Cowboys' football game.
1997 2Pac's R U Still Down? (Remember Me) is released posthumously.
1997 The original Zombies lineup -- Rod Argent on organ, Colin Blunstone on vocals, Paul Atkinson on guitar, Chris White on bass, and Hugh Grundy on drums -- reunites onstage for the first time in 30 years at London's Jazz Cafe, performing two songs only: "She's Not There" and "Time Of The Season" to promote their new box set Zombie Heaven.
1997 Garth Brooks releases his eighth album, Sevens, with the hits "Two Piña Coladas" and "Longneck Bottle."
1997 Blues singer and guitarist Fenton Robinson dies of complications from brain cancer in Rockford, Illinois, at age 62. Known for his signature song, "Somebody Loan Me a Dime" (1967).
After a nine-year hiatus, Take That announce they're getting back together and going on tour without Robbie Williams.
"Thanks for giving us the last 10 years off, but unfortunately, the rumors are true. Take That is going back on tour." - Gary Barlow Nine years after splitting up, Take That's Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald, and Jason Orange hold a press conference in London announcing they're getting back together and going on tour across the UK and Ireland. Robbie Williams, who left Take That in July 1995 to pursue a solo career, is not included in the lineup. After selling 275,000 tickets in three hours, The Ultimate Tour is expanded from 11 to 32 dates and runs from April to June 2006, with each band member pocketing a reported £1,500,000. Take That was one of the biggest boy bands in the UK in the '90s. Formed in Manchester in 1990 by music manager Nigel Martin-Smith, they sold themselves as the British answer to the American pop group New Kids on the Block. Despite their modest success early on, Take That exploded in popularity in October 1993 when they released their second album, Everything Changes. Certified 3x Platinum in the UK, the album produced four consecutive #1 singles: "Pray," "Relight My Fire," "Babe," and "Everything Changes." In March 1995, they released their biggest-selling single to date, "Back for Good." Williams – plagued by drug and alcohol addiction – quit the band soon after. Take That continued to tour as a four-piece before agreeing to disband over the Christmas period in 1995. The group released their final single, a cover of "How Deep Is Your Love" by the Bee Gees, in February 1996. Fans were left so distraught by the breakup that the British mental health charity Samaritans established hotlines to help counsel the most grief-stricken supporters. While he initially failed to reach the same heights as his former group, Williams ultimately went on to have a hugely successful solo career, beginning in December 1997 with "Angels." Barlow, in contrast, was dropped by his record label after only two albums. He subsequently retreated from the public eye until November 2005, when a greatest hits album, Never Forget – The Ultimate Collection, and a television documentary, For the Record, reignited interest in Take That. As well as announcing The Ultimate Tour, the reunited Take That go on to release a new album, Beautiful World, in November 2006. A critical and commercial success, it becomes the second best-selling album of 2006 in the UK after being on sale for only one month. In July 2010, Williams temporarily rejoins Take That for the album Progress and its accompanying tour, Progress Live. In September 2014, Orange announces his permanent departure from the band, leaving just three members of the original lineup. Despite this, Barlow, Owen, and Donald continue to see success, and in 2019 embark on the sell-out Greatest Hits Live tour. Photo: MandyJC72, via Flickr, CC 2.0
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